Fintech startup KreditBee has snagged $80 million in fresh funding.
This Series D round included participation of its existing investors Azim Premji’s Premji Invest, Motilal Oswal Alternates, TPG-backed NewQuest Capital Partners, and Mirae Asset Ventures. MUFG Bank, the largest bank in Japan, joined in as a new investor in the fintech startup. The valuation after the funding round was not disclosed.
The round of funding is the latest by KreditBee, and comes after it had gobbled up millions in its Series C funding round in 2021. So far, the startup has raised a total of $200 million, and it intends to deploy the fresh amount of capital towards the diversification of its product portfolio (by venturing into digitally-enabled secured loans, home loans, and credit lines and the expansion of its lending portfolio) and the enhancement of its technology stack.
“We’re confident of KreditBee further consolidating its market leadership position in the coming times,” said Atul Gupta, Partner at Premji Invest.
“KreditBee is run on the ethos of enabling underserved customers an easy access to financial products through tech-enabled underwriting. We are very excited to partner with KreditBee in their growth journey of providing financial services to millions of customers,” said Shashank Joshi, Deputy CEO and Head Global Corporate Banking, MUFG India.
While $80 million may not be a significant amount when it comes to fundraising, KreditBee’s Series D round remains a significant one. For one, it comes at a time when an economic downturn has resulted in the slowdown of markets worldwide, making it difficult for firms to bring in millions via funding rounds as they have found it difficult to attract new investors and funding from venture capital decreased this year.
For another, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been stepping up on its efforts to regulate the digital lending industry in the country and tackle the predatory practices of India’s digital lending players – and KreditBee operates a platform that offers instant personal loans to individuals and operates its own, in-house, RBI-registered NBFC.
The startup, founded six years ago, claims to have six million loan customers at present – of which over two million are active customers – and expects to cross Assets Under Management (AUMs) of $1 billion in the next 6-9 months.
“The investment adds more weight to our vision of encouraging financial independence through a smart digital experience, which is what India stands for today. With the current round, we look forward to expand our set of solutions to serve our growing consumer base,” said Madhusudan E, co-founder and CEO, KreditBee.
